The number of shoppers heading to Welsh retail destinations still remains down on pre-pandemic levels despite footfall continuing to rise compared to 2022, figures show. According to new data from the Welsh Retail Consortium, footfall increased by 3% in April year-on-year.
However, this was 6.1 percentage points worse than March and lower than the UK average increase of 5.3% (year-on-year). When compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019, total Welsh footfall was 18% lower, with shopping centres down by 34.6% and footfall in Cardiff by 13.0%.
Of the nations and regions in the UK, Wales recorded a higher increase in footfall, compared to last year, than Northern Ireland (2.9%), Yorkshire and the Humber (2.9%), North West England (2.8%), South West England (1.8%). North East England was the only region to see a drop in footfall numbers by minus 3.2%.
